Biography - Thomas Curran, Ph.D.

Dr. Curran is the Deputy Scientific Director at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, an Investigator of the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, and an Investigator of the Research Institute of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Curran obtained his Ph.D. from the Imperial Cancer Research Fund Laboratories and University College in London, UK in 1982. He completed postdoctoral training at the Salk Institute in San Diego in 1984 before joining Hoffmann La Roche as a senior Scientist. Dr. Curran moved to the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology in 1985 as an Assistant Member rising to the position of Associate Director in 1992. In 1995 he joined St. Jude Children's Research Hospital as Member and founding Chairman of the Department of Developmental Neurobiology. Dr. Curran became Deputy Scientific Director of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in July 2006. His research addresses the molecular basis of normal and neoplastic growth of the brain with the goal of uncovering new approaches for the treatment of pediatric brain tumors. He served as President of the American Association of Cancer Research in 2001 and on Board of Scientific Advisors of the National Cancer Institute from 2000-2005. In 2005 he was elected to the Royal Society.

Dr. Curran was elected to the Institute of Medicine in October, 2009. Established in 1970, the IOM is the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences, which was chartered under President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. The IOM is renowned for its research program, but it is also an honorific organization with more than 1,700 members and foreign associates. Each year, the full membership elects up to 65 new members and five foreign associates to the IOM. Members are elected for their excellence and professional achievement in a field relevant to the IOM's mission and for their willingness to participate actively in its work. For those at the top of their field, membership in the IOM reflects the height of professional achievement and commitment to service.